Polling stations opened in Egypt this morning as voting into the 596 member parliament. The delayed elections, scheduled to end by 9 pm today is long overdue as the Egyptian Parliament was dissolved in 2012.
The Parliamentary election is widely seen by many as an opportunity for President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi to consolidate his hold on power as Most of the candidates on the ballot are openly in support of Sisi.
President Sisi, a former military general backed the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi and has jailed most of the leaders of Morsi’s party, the Muslim Brotherhood.
President Sisi has urged Egyptians to participate in today’s elections and “Celebrate the choice of representatives and make the right choice,”